Routing and carrying device for mail.



A. DOWNEY.

ROUTING AND CARRYING DEVICE FOR MAIL.

APPLICATION FILED MAY10,191&

1,096,356, Patented May12,1914.

nesses l W Attorneys eerie.

ROUTING AND CARRYING DEVICE FOR MAIL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 12, 1914.

Application filed May 10, 1913. Serial No. 766,818.

To alt whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT Downer, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chandler in the county of Lincoln and State of klahoi'na, have invented a new and useful Routing and Carrying Device for Mail, of which the following is a SPQCll'lCttion.

This invention relates to improvements in routing devices and more particularly to a device with which a number of bundles of mail may be routed and to provide means for the carrying of the mail by the letter carrier.

An object of the present invention is to provide a board or base with posts and wire frames rising upwardly therefrom and between which the papers and letters may be routed and removed therefrom.

A further object is to provide a routing device which may be used to carry the mail while the letter carrier .is traversing one of the routes.

A further object is to provide a base with grooves extending longitudinally and transversely thereof and into which grooves may be positioned a strap adapted to engage the mail matter as it is routed thereabove. The device in question may therefore be used to route a large number of bundles after which it may be carried about by the mailman during the delivering of a bundle of the routed mail.

\Vith the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, theinvention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawings accompanying this specification and forming a part thereof, the preferable form of my invention is illustrated, in which Figure 1. is a view in perspective of my improved device with a bundle of papers or similar articles positioned therein and during process of routing the same. Fig. 2 is a view in perspective, showing a bundle of letters during the process of routing. Fig. 3 is a side view of the device as it is carried about by the mail man during the delivering of a bundle of the routed mail.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 is a base formed of some light and rigid material and the upper surface thereof is provided with the hmgitudinal groove 2 and the transverse groove 8, the grooves being of a sullicicnt width to accommodate a strap as is used in connection with the handling of mail.

The base 1 is relatively longer than it is wide and rigidly secured to the said base adjacent and parallel to the side edges thereof are the inverted U-shapcd members 4:. The downwardlly extending legs 5 of said members are threaded as at (3 at their lower extremity and said threaded portions (3 extend through suitable apertures 7 formed in the base, there being suitable retaining nuts 8 engaging the threaded portions of said legs above and below the base so as to rigidly secure the said U-shaped members thereto. The U-shaped members i are in the nature of partitions and are arranged centrally of the longitudinal grooves 2 so that when it is desired to route papers, magazines, and similar articles 9, they are positioned as illustrated in Fig. 1, between said U-shaped members with the strap 10 positioned in the transverse groove 3 so that after the papers and magazines t) have been satisfactorily routed the ends of the straps are brought upwardly and around the bundle so formed and secured thereto. The routed papers may then be removed from the base and a new set routed.

In order to provide means whereby letters may be similarly routed, the upstanding end posts 11 are provided with the threaded ends 12 which ends extend through suitable apertures 18 in the base and above and below the base suril'ace are positioned the retaining nuts 14. which are adapted to hold the said end posts in an upright and rigid manner. The end posts 1 l are spaced at distance from the nearer legs 5 of the U-shaped members a distance in excess of the width of the average letter so that the letters may be piled between the end posts and the nearest of the legs 5, it being noted in this connection that during the routing of the letters as illustrated in Fig. 2, the strap 10 is positioned in the longitudinal groove 2 so that after a sufficient munbcr of letters have been arranged in a pile and routed the strap may be brought therearound so as to hold the same in their respective relations. The base with the upstanding members secured thereto may therefore be used for the routing of the mail prior to the delivering thereof.

Then it is desired to deliver one of the routed bundles of mail, the same is positioned between the partitions which extend along the side edges of the base and the strap removed therefrom, after which the strap is placed around the mail and beneath the base. This is clearly illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The routing device may then be readily carried about and the mail paid ofi from the top of the bundles in the order as previously arranged. The under or back surface of the base is smoothly finished so that it can be used as an impromptu desk or writing pad should the occasion so arise.

It is considered that the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is such a disclosure of my invention as will result in the ready appreciation of its benefit andadvantages, it only being necessary to further remark possibly that it is characterized for its extreme simplicity, therefore is inexpensive to manufacture, and is eflicient for the purpose intended.

Having thus fully described the invention what I claim to be new and original with me is 1. A routing device comprising a base, upstanding partitions secured thereto, said base provided with transverse and longitudinal grooves along the upper surface thereof adapted to receive a bundle-tying strap therein for the securing of the routed mail.

2. In a device of the class described, a base with a longitudinal and transverse groove extending thereacross, members secured to said base and upstanding therefrom adapted to confine the mail in alined position, one article above the other, said grooves adapted to receive bundletying straps therein, said base adapted to form a holder for a routed bundle of mail during the delivery thereof.

to hold said straps out of contact with the articles'disposed thereabove during the renting process.

4:. In a mail routing device, a base provided with apertures along the side edges thereof and provided with a transverse and a longitudinal groove extending along the upper surface thereof, 'U-shaped partitions rigidly secured Within said base apertures and extending outwardly therefrom, said U-shaped partitions adapted to therebetween papers and allied articles to be routed, said transverse groove adapted to receive a bundle-tying means therein out of contact with the articles disposed thereabove, and end posts rigidly secured to the said base apertures and extending upwardly therefrom, the end posts and the adjacent leg of the U-shaped partitions being adapted to receive letters therebetween, said longitudinal groove adapted to receive means therein for the tying-of the said letters in routed bundles, the said base adapted to receive tylng means therearound for the securing of a routed bundle of mail thereto receive for the delivery thereof, the under or back 7 surface of said base forming an impromptu desk.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT DOWNEY. Witnesses D. J. NORTON, S. S. HARRIs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

